Monday, 18 January 2016

As a tutor I find that spelling is something that some of my
students are not confident with. More
often than not, they are given a spelling list of words to learn at school
without any explanation or activities to help them develop strategies to learn
and use the spellings. (Some are not
sure of the phonemes and as they progress through school their exposure to
these is less and less frequent). At
times, the words that they are learning are only used in ‘the weekly spelling
list’ so that the student learns the word for that specific test and then
forgets it.

When working with an individual student on a spelling list,
I endeavour to use a variety of strategies to support them; looking for
patterns and letter strings; identifying the phonemes; writing the spellings in
chalk, sand or shaving foam. I believe that learning spellings should be structured and fun!

This snakes and ladders spelling game is very popular and I have used it
with children of all ages and abilities as you (or the student) make cards with
the individual’s spellings on them. I
keep the cards so that we can practise the words again (and again) in future
lessons. Through the game, the children
discuss, practise their spelling and develop strategies to help them learn and
to remember the spellings. I play with
the student and they really enjoy it when they beat me or I slide down a
snake.

There are a variety of activities in the game. Fancy crazy writing involves the student
writing the word in bubble writing, or dots, etc. Colour coding encourages them to identify the
phonemes, to find words within words, or parts of the word that they may find
tricky. A rap that I use frequently is this: to the s to the p, to the e l l, to the i
to the n to the g, to the spelling, spelling, spelling. Sometimes this rhythm goes wonky or it may
not quite fit which always brings a smile and leads to a discussion about
possible alternatives. More simply try
clapping the syllables or chanting a spelling rule e.g change the y into i and add es.

I am quite new to blogging and I am
discovering ways of sharing things that I have tried and tested successfully
and enjoy using with you. As a consequence, I had to draw the snakes and
ladders on the game board and then scan it for this blog – I guess you can play
the game without the snakes and ladders or you can use other objects according
to the students interests e.g. space rockets and comets. If you would like copy please contact me.

Tuesday, 5 January 2016

Your child may have homework that involves online research. The internet is a huge resource and generally
there is no problem finding information about a specific topic. However,
reading, deciphering a, applying that information can be daunting as there is
so much of it, often written in formal and technical language that can leave
your child (and yourself) with the feeling of 'information overload.' The following questions will support your
child in developing online research skills and successfully completing online
research tasks.

What needs to be done? Support your child to define the task and
identify one or two specific questions that they want to find the answer to.

What resources can I use? Search engines will direct you to websites
which use text. However, the text may be
overwhelming for even the most confident of readers. Choosing videos can be an effective alternative
way of researching, particularly as these tend to be short and concise. The images tool can also be a useful resource
in both interpreting and presenting information.

Where can I find these resources? When
typing the specific question / key words you can include the words "for
kids" or "key stage one" into the search engine which should
direct you to websites that are more accessible for children.

What can I use from these resources? Add
useful websites to your “favourites” so that they can easily be located
again. In selecting the information,
encourage your child to refer back to their specific question/s, identified in the
first question.

How will I know I did my job well? Encourage
your child to evaluate their research by asking themselves if they have answered
their initial question/s, have they used their own words and what they have
learnt? The mnemonic KISS (keep it short
and simple) may help your child to select facts and to organise their work.

What can I make to finish the job? Your child's research can be presented in many
ways (text, poster or model) using features of non-fiction, e.g: text boxes, to
produce an eye catching, informative and concise project.

About Me

Over the years as a primary teacher and senior leader I developed an enthusiasm for assessment and the creative curriculum. Currently I work as a supply teacher and have my own Primary Education Consultant and Tutor business.. I provide advice and coaching to schools in developing a stimulating curriculum that focuses on informative assessment strategies and learning skills to enable all students to achieve their full potential. As a private tutor I am able to work closely with individual students, creating learning opportunities that are centred on their needs and learning style. I am an enthusiastic teacher who is passionate about learning.